I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

This was excellent. Asher, Olivia, Lily, Jordan and Selena: all brilliantly detailed and deep characters. Even the side characters, Maya, Dirk, Ava, Mike and Braden: rich and full of depth and detail. My one complaint is not knowing Lily was transgender until the twist; I am not trans but I just felt like it was an important part of who Lily is because it is how she becomes who she is. To hide it and use it as a shock device felt frustrating as a reader. However, I appreciate LGBTQ representation so I can also see that allowing Lily to be an 18 year old young woman gives her life and focus not on one part of her but on her wholeness.
The setting is usual for Jodi Picoult. An idyllic small town rocked by a scandalous trial. I regularly pick up Picoult’s books and this one hasn’t changed my perspective so I will continue to do so.

“Mad Honey,” co-authored by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, got me out of a reading slump. I was having trouble staying focused on any book until I picked up “Mad Honey” and became totally engrossed.

It features the surprise plot twists Picoult is known for, along with her ability to put you in the shoes of people you might not know or understand, such as: the gunman and patients at an abortion clinic in “A Spark of Light”; a white supremacist in “Small Great Things”; a school shooter in “Nineteen Minutes”; and an Amish woman in “Plain Truth” -- to name a few. Although Picoult partnered with co-author, Boylan -- to me, the writing was seamless. I could not tell which author wrote which sections.

Olivia and Ava are both single moms in a small New Hampshire town. Their teenage children – Asher and Lily – begin dating each other. Lily dies unexpectedly. Asher discovers her body and is subsequently accused of murdering her. Enter Olivia’s brother, defense attorney Jordan McAfee, who appeared earlier in “Nineteen Minutes” and “The Pact.” McAfee represents Asher in tense court room scenes. (I love a good court room scene!) Along the way, we learn about the art of beekeeping. In some ways, “Mad Honey” is to bees what “Moby Dick” is to whales.

I won’t reveal any more of the plot to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say that “Mad Honey” will provoke lively book club discussions and linger in the reader’s mind long after the final page.

Mad Honey (Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan) has likable characters that you get to know better with some back and forth in time sequences. I was enjoying the story learning about the folks involved, and even the bee keeping information was fascinating. All was going along smoothly. Until a major surprise that literally made my jaw drop. I really enjoyed this story. At the end of the book we are even given some recipes that are mentioned in the story. I want to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an early copy to review.

The collaboration between Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Boylan was very smooth. I haven't read anything by Boylan but this book felt to me just like the older Picoult novels. The richness of the characters, each with their fears and secrets. My heart went out to both mothers but mainly to Lily. And that little revelation at the end...did not see it coming! Thanks for the recipes! I will have to try a couple.

Readers: make sure to read the author's note to find out how this novel came about and the co-writing process. I found it very interesting, a little insider of these 2 amazing authors.

Thanks NetGalley, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Boylan, and Ballantine for this delightful ARC!!!

Wow. I remember reading Nineteen Minutes and Small Great Things and feeling so moved, knowing that I would spend a lot of time thinking about it, long after that final page. Mad Honey has that same classic Jodi Picoult magic. It's heartbreaking, it's beautiful and it's so incredibly compelling.

As a mother, with children getting older, I am now coming into her books with a different perspective. While Lily is such a phenomenal character, the mothers in this one--Olivia and Ava--they just gutted me.

The authors' notes at the end should be required reading--especially for those who are unwilling to read this because of the nature of some of the content this book explores. I was fascinated by the details they shared about the coauthoring process. It is clear this was a passion project that I'm sure wasn't easy. I really hope Jennifer Finney Boylan gets a chance to bring us Ava's story because I would absolutely read it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books for the advanced copy and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Mad Honey” is Jodi Picoult doing what she does best – taking a complex, emotional, and relevant topic, breaking it down to its nuts and bolts, and examining it with compassion. I won’t say what that topic is because it’s meant to take you by surprise partway through the story and make you rethink your preconceptions, but I will say that it is absolutely compelling and Picoult’s exploration of it is deft and thoughtful.

Jodi Picoult’s seamless collaboration with fellow author Jennifer Finney Boylan make this a book not to be missed. Picoult’s last few books have been a bit hit or miss for me, but this one reads like her older work: nuanced viewpoints, lyrical prose, and heart-touching emotions. “Mad Honey” is a powerful book that educates, entertains, and most of all, encourages the reader to consider what’s inside their own mind and heart. Highly recommended for book clubs, as it is sure to generate a lot of discussion as readers share their thoughts.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Mad Honey follows the before and after of a teenager finding his girlfriend dead at the bottom of the stairs. Told from the point of view of his mother and the victim, this story makes you doubt what really happened. There are many secrets revealed throughout the story to change what the characters believe about each other. The book ends up tackling an unexpected tough topic.

I'm a huge fan of Jodi Picoult and I was a little leery of a co written book. I should not have worried. Jennifer Finney Boylan is a new author to me but this book is seamlessly written and as emotional and riveting as any Picoult book I have read previously. The story is written in two timelines. The first timeline is Olivia. She has left an abusive marriage and is raising her son in New Hampshire on a bee farm. This timeline moves forward from an incident that defines this book. The other timeline belongs to Lily, the girlfriend of Olivia's son. Her timeline moves backward from the same incident. Does this sound confusing? It isn't. It really works. This book touches on a lot of current themes and educates without preaching. Surprisingly, we have a repeat character in this book. Olivia's brother is Jordan, the lawyer from The Pact and Nineteen Minutes. This is another outstanding story from Jodi Picoult and introduces many of us to Jennifer Finney Boylan, While I was unfamiliar with her work, I will now be checking out the books she has written.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy. My review is my own.

Mad Honey is Jodi Picoult's newest book is written with a co-author, Jennifer Finney Boylan.
The book features two POVs. The first is Olivia who has left her husband after years of abuse. The other is Lily who is dating Olivia's son. After a terrible accident, Olivia's son is brought up on murder charges and details about everyone's past slowly comes to light.
I absolutely loved this book. The characters were so authentic and I loved the writing.

I have long been impressed by Jodi Picoult's ability to come up with a string of standalone books that are beautifully written, thought-provoking, and relevant to the world in which we live. In this book she collaborates successfully with a co-author on the story of two teenagers who have tight bonds with their independent mothers and fraught relationships with their estranged, difficult fathers. The story is narrated alternately by Asher's mother, Olivia, and by Ava's daughter, Lily, and the timing jumps back and forth but manages not to be too confusing. Lily and Asher meet in high school and are in love, but sometimes their relationship is bumpy. Then, one day, when Lily is found fatally injured and Asher is present, it is inevitable that Asher will be the prime suspect in her homicide. It's impossible to give any more details without spoilers, and preferable to read the book with no preconceived ideas.

There is so much to admire about this book. The authors' writing can be quite lyrical at times, forcing me to slow down and savor every word. The characters are nuanced and believable. Interspersed with the action is abundant detail about beekeeping and bee culture, including parallels drawn between bees and humans, all of which I found fascinating. Highly recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Olivia McAfee had a picture-perfect life in Boston, married to a cardiothoracic surgeon and raising a son, Asher. Until her husband revealed a darker side. Now she is back in her New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, taking over her father's beekeeping business.

Lily knows about starting over too. She relocated to New Hampshire with her mom for the final year of high school. You can imagine what comes next: Asher falls for the new girl. Him and Lily fall for each other hard.

Then Olivia receives a frightening phone call: Lily is dead and Asher is being questioned by the police. He is the main suspect having found Olivia's body with fingerprints in places he claims to have never been. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent but she cannot deny the flashes of his father's temper in him. The case against Asher unfolds to a shocking revelation.

Bookhearts, can you hear my heart strings tugging a little bit? Can you see my mind interpreting the words within this soon-to-be bestseller? Listen. Whatever Jodi Picoults puts her pen to is sure to be a good read. I really like the dynamic between her and new-to-me author Jennifer Finney Boylan. I could not tell when one or the other was writing. It flowed. It meshed. It riveted. And most of all, it is a moving story of what is secret and what is private...because there is a difference!

I recommend Mad Honey for my chick lit with substance Bookhearts. The readers that enjoy a good suspenseful unforgettable love story with a dose of the justice system. Take your time reading this one too! I spent five (5) days with it to let each chapter soak in. Upon turning the last page, I thought, "Whew, imagine!"

Happy Early Pub Day, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan! Mad Honey will be available Tuesday, October 4.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

~LiteraryMarie

Trying to get my anger under control about all the reviewers complaining that this book is "too woke." When did it become so socially acceptable to complain about a book that does not mirror your exact lived in experience? What a bunch of small-minded whiners.

For me, this was a solid book that took the reader on a surprising journey.

First off, the strengths. This writer knows how to do a mid-book twist (I still haven't recovered from the last one I read) and this story is no exception. (From the notes at the end, this may be more due to the skills of the co-writer than Picoult herself). I thought the characters were well rendered and the trial was suspenseful. Also I was genuinely surprised by the reveal at the end.

The weakness of the book feel very Picoult-centered, since they're ones I've had with her past books as well. I really dislike when we drop out of story time into educational lectures. A few sentences of history or facts on beekeeping is cool, but when it goes on and on it like a Wikipedia page, it drags down the pace of the story.

I can't really discuss the plot any further than that, except to say that I am glad this book exists and I hope Picoult's name recognition will draw more eyeballs to it.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Jodi Piccoult books and have read many of them. This would be a wonderful book club book because the book had so many twists and turns. It keeps surprising you until the end and you iust wish you had someone to discuss it with. A solid 4 star book for me. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in.exchange for an honest review.

Olivia's world falls apart when her son Asher is arrested for the murder of his girlfriend Lily. The story alternates the point of view between Olivia and Lily. This book reads like a mystery or suspense novel with courtroom drama. Some chapters are long and parts of the book touch on subjects such as being transgender, domestic abuse, and racism, to name a few, that I'm uncomfortable with. If I hear no evil, see no evil, say no evil, it can't touch me. Yet, I was curious enough that I wanted to see how Asher"s trial turned out. I honestly can say if I had known beforehand that these subjects were included I might not have read the book. I have read some of Jodi Picoult's work that I enjoyed. Even though this book is not one of my favorites, I feel it deserves 4 stars. Thanks to the authors, Random House Publishing - Ballantine, and NetGalley for providing a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

4.25 out of 5. This book was awesome. Jodi Picoult has had a super storyteller year. Her earlier book this year was one of my 5 star reads and this one does not disappoint. Family drama meets courtroom drama and you know those are my two favorite tv genres. It takes a little bit to get used to the jumping timelines and two narrators. Once you do it is very engaging and most illustrative. I love how progressive this story is. On a non storyline related comment, Lily's story answered a lot of questions about trans women and their process and I felt more educated when I finished reading this book which is always good!.

I feel like the more books I read, the less I truly want to consume Jodi Picoult, this is a great book for 3 book a year readers, but not for avid ones.

Jodi Picoult is an author that I sometimes love and sometimes have trouble reading. This was an ok story about a woman who moves herself and son back to her hometown when she divorces her husband. When a girl is killed and her son, Asher is accused and tried for her murder. I just couldn't connect with the characters in the book. The town and the trial were well written but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Jodi Picoult never goes wrong. She has such a way of writing that makes the reader tackle issues that they almost feel wrong thinking about as you are forced to dissect your own biases. She does it with such grace, bringing in experts to help navigate social issues that she is not able to talk about on her own. Co-author Jennifer Finney Boylan was an incredible addition to this novel. I couldn't tell that two different authors were involved since everything was so seamless. I especially love how Picoult always creates realistic situations, whether it's the intricacies of beekeeping or the legalese in a murder trial.

This book follows the tragic death of a young girl and the subsequent murder trial of her boyfriend. Picoult is known for her surprising twists and this book is no exception. Up to the very end of the book, you are left wondering the truth. Both Lilly and Asher have had traumatic pasts. One lives in spite of that and the other has forgotten what actually happened. Their responses to their trauma are evident in their actions in the present. You can see how each of the parents lives are affected by the traumas that they and their children faced as well.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of "Mad Honey" by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, and to Ballantine Books.

Jodi Picoult always amazes me. Her books have such depth & tackle such complex, emotional issues. All the wonderful storytelling aside, the research she does & in this story particular, is so interesting & educational. I learned much more about honey & bees than I knew previously & enjoyed learning it. All the while being wrapped up in a wonderful story that won’t let you put it down.

I love Jodi Picoult and her novels never fail to entertain me. This one was even more interesting to me seeing that she added a co-author. As with many of her books, there is a twist you don’t see coming followed by a complete 180 turn in the story. This novel, like many of her others, is thought provoking which is one thing I love about her work.